Friday, April 20, 2012

‘STOP AID TO SWAZI KING’ - ACTIVISTS

It is time for the international community to act in
response to the Swazi government’s repeated human rights violations, says
Wandile Dludlu, Project Coordinator of the Swaziland United Democratic Front,
an umbrella organisation of all progressive democratic forces in Swaziland, the
stiffkitten blog writes.

A month ago the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted
the Universal Periodic Review of Swaziland, where Swaziland amongst other
things accepted to guarantee freedom of assembly, association and freedom of
expression. The Universal Periodic Reviews examine the human rights performance
of all UN member states.

Amnesty International welcomed this acceptance in a public
statement, although Amnesty indicated that Swaziland still had to “remove all
restrictions impeding the full exercise of civil and political rights,
including through meaningful participation of political parties in elections.”

As has happened more or less routinely, however, such
promises of upholding the rule of law by the Swazi government were followed by
actions that disregarded these promises. Last week Swazi security forces more
or less forcefully detained most of the leaders of the Swazi democratic movement
without charge and barred thousands more from joining a peaceful protest, in
clear violation of their freedom of assembly, association and expression. And
this is only the latest of a long list of more or less violent disregard for
human rights and the rule of law by the Swazi government.

The Swazi democratic movement has grown tired of its
peaceful calls for democracy and socio-economic justice being met with arrests
or violence whilst the international community treats Swaziland as if it might
someday, somehow live us to its promises, and is calling for tougher measures
against the Swazi government.

“Maybe the time for Europe to remove the gloves in regard to
the Swazi monarchy has come. Blatant disregard for human rights and democracy
can’t be allowed anymore. Developmental aid must be stopped until the king
commits to democracy. Especially because the Cotonou agreement is repeatedly
violated,” Wandile Dludlu of the Swaziland United Democratic Front tells Africa
Contact.

The Cotonou Agreement is a development treaty between the EU
and over 70 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states that is aimed at
poverty reduction of the ACP states by, amongst other things, funding
sustainable development.

As the strategy paper between Swaziland and the EU that is based
on the Cotonou Agreement, which channels 70 million Euros to Swaziland between
2008 and 2013, obliges Swaziland to uphold its human rights obligations and
seek to implement good governance, this is therefore an obvious place to start.